Man jailed in bar death

Suspect held on $1 million bond

January 22, 2014

NEWTON FALLS - Bond was set at $1 million on Tuesday for a man accused in last week's fatal stabbing at the Bristol Inn Bar.

William J. Helmuth, 45, of North Bloomfield, was arraigned in Newton Falls Municipal Court. He is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Craig Neighbor, 41, of Bristol.

The Trumbull County Coroner's Office confirmed that Neighbor died from multiple stab wounds. His death was ruled a homicide.

Reports state an argument between the two men at the bar, located at at 6233 state Route 45 at the intersection of state Route 88, escalated into a fight that ended in Neighbor's death Thursday night.

Investigators have said little about the case. Police were called to the bar about 9 p.m. after receiving reports that two men had gotten into an argument and that one had stabbed the other.

Neighbor was taken to Trumbull Memorial Hospital, where he died.

Helmuth left the bar after the stabbing and was apprehended later, according to reports. He has remained at the Trumbull County Jail since his arrest last week.

He is due back in municipal court for a preliminary hearing at 11 a.m. Thursday unless a Trumbull County grand jury moves to indict him before then.

Court records show that Helmuth has had various brushes with police and faced charges ranging from disorderly conduct and menacing to assault. He was due to appear in Newton Falls Municipal Court at 10 a.m. Feb. 18 on a misdemeanor assault charge stemming from an incident Jan. 1, 2013.